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BREAKING: Although we can't say for sure, it appears that the Egyptian-owned, Maltese-flagged container ship SAFEEN PRESTIGE (9593517) may have been struck again overnight as she is suddenly burning following the initial strike on 2026-03-04 in the Strait of Hormuz.

NEW: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck critical Iranian energy infrastructure on March 18, including facilities linked to the South Pars natural gas field and the Asaluyeh processing hub in Bushehr Province. These facilities are central to Iran’s domestic natural gas supply and broader energy system, which supports a significant portion of Iran’s economic activity and regime revenue. Iran exports a small share of its natural gas, primarily to Iraq and Turkey, meaning disruptions will also affect regional energy consumption. The IDF killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in an airstrike on March 18. Khatib was responsible for coordinating the regime’s repression of the Iranian population in his role within the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, including overseeing the regime‘s crackdowns on the Winter 2025-2026 protests and the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests. The combined force’s decapitation campaign and targeting of security services is reportedly causing paranoia among Iranian regime officials and members of Iranian security services. Israeli strikes targeting internal security services are reportedly hurting “rank-and-file morale” and are driving security forces to sleep in vehicles, mosques, or sports facilities in order to avoid targeting. Hezbollah claimed 57 attacks targeting Israeli forces and positions in northern Israel and southern Lebanon since CTP-ISW’s last data cut off. The IDF has continued to conduct airstrikes targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, including strikes targeting Hezbollah’s social and financial service network in Lebanon.

Following last week’s laundry room fire onboard the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), which extended into several berthings, the U.S. Navy was forced to take 1,000 mattresses off the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) in Norfolk, Virginia over the weekend to send to the Ford, sources tell USNI News. In addition, the Navy has also collected almost 2,000 sweatsuits and other clothing items to distribute to the crew because many sailors are unable to clean their clothes with most of the laundry services out of commission, as the tired ship heads for Souda Naval Base in Crete.